Various plant-derived essential oils have been used in numerous applications dating back to prehistory. Their use in repelling insects or animals is well-known. Because plant essential oils tend to be volatile and will evaporate quickly when exposed to the elements, they will not last long unless dissolved in a carrier such as mineral oil. Repelling insects from a surface for an extended period may be desirable so that spiders, wasps, Carpenter Bees, and many other undesirable insects will be deterred from crawling on, building nests on, or burrowing into the painted surface for an extended period.
There are products currently being marketed for admixture to paints for this purpose, but these materials are registered pesticides, functioning to kill rather than to repel insects, and are known to have significant toxicity in and of themselves. There are a limited number of products available today that use known insecticides to impart insecticidal properties to a dried paint film. In some applications, known insecticides may be added to a coating at the time of manufacture. Other products are sold with the intent that they be added to the liquid paint by the painter, contractor, or homeowner prior to painting. In this way, insecticidal qualities may be imparted to a paint, coating, or stain that previously did not exhibit such properties. DIAZINON (CIBA-GEIGY CORPORATION, Summit, N.J.) was registered for such a use and marketed under the name “CPF2D,” (WALLA WALLA ENVIRONMENTAL, Inc., Walla Walla, Wash.), but it's registration for this use was discontinued. Numerous other materials have been used in this application, including DURSBAN (DOW AGRO SCIENCE, Indianapolis, Ind.) (Chlorpyrifos), but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has consistently disallowed these applications presumably due to the inherent dangers of allowing consumers to admix known toxicants without training or instruction. Currently this inventor is aware of only one material being used for this purpose, i.e., a Deltamethrin product sold under the name “Bug Juice.” It may well be that this labeled use will be disallowed in the near future. Another unintended consequence of mixing an insecticide with a paint or coating is that the dead insect may land in the freshly painted surface, ruining the finish.
There are also many products available today to repel insects from a given area or to deter insects, especially mosquitoes, from contacting the skin. The most well-known of these materials is N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide or N,N-diethly-3-methylbenzamide (DEET). This is the active ingredient in such products as OFF (SC JOHNSON, Racine, Wash.) and many other commercially available insect repellants. It is well-known that many plants also produce compounds that are toxic or irritating to insects. Other plants may mimic the odor of these compounds to repel insects. There are many products made from plant oils being marketed today as insect repellants or insecticides.
Many plant essential oils and extracts thereof are known to be effective insect repellents and/or insecticides. The EPA, in the text of 40 CFR Part 152.25, refers to the materials found on its “Generally Regarded as Safe” (GRAS) List as “Minimum risk pesticides.”
There are two previous patents outlining the use in coatings of various plant essential oils as deterrents to insect attack. U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,215 to Whalon et al. describes the use of essential oils for this purpose, but very narrowly defines this use to a maximum of 0.30% of essential oil added to clear, water-based print varnishes applied to flexible food packaging. On the other hand, it very broadly refers to “plant secondary compounds . . . which have insecticidal characteristics.” It further describes the use of alcohols to aid in the dispersion of the essential oils and specifies the use of high speed equipment to accomplish same. This technique ensures that the utility of the previous patent will be limited to those who are versed in the art of manufacturing paints and coatings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,215 also differs from the current invention in that it does not describe nor does it teach the use of GRAS List materials to obviate onerous registration and expensive testing requirements. It does not describe or teach the simple stir-in practices of the current invention that enable anyone desiring an insect repellant coating to impart this property at a time and place of their choosing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,215 does not address the current invention wherein the desirous property of repelling noxious insects from an area during coating application is described.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,248 to Lee et al. addresses a much broader use of paint composition and thoroughly describes the longevity of insecticidal activity achieved by binding the insecticide into the coatings solids, as well as the advantages of dwellings with walls containing insecticide. However, U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,248 makes no mention of plant essential oils or of the GRAS List. Its major thrust is the use of piperonyl butoxide as a synergist to pyrethrums and the enhanced killing effect of this combination. This is a well-known synergy, and, apparently, this patent was awarded on the basis of describing this synergy in coating application. It differs from the current invention in that it does not describe, nor does it teach the use of GRAS List materials to repel rather than to kill insects. Neither does it describe or teach the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) exempt status of GRAS List insecticides which allow any Do-It-Yourself applicator to impart insect repellency to a coating without undue regulatory restrictions and with minimal risk to themselves or the environment. It also differs from the current invention in that the desirous property of repelling noxious insects during coating application is described.